Training Log Archive: Grandpa Jameson

more broken sleep here. dehydrated and terrible bed made for a rough night of sleep.

Event: Firecracker 50
 

ok sleep in breck... always struggle sleeping up high for the first time of year. neighbors partying late too.... ready to let it rip today. weird feeling about this race... not sure why... maybe the demo bike i'll be racing or that it's not longer an A race.... gonna be a hard day.

mellow warm up before the race. just spinning around town.

whew.... tough day at the office. tried not to make any excuses about racing the 32lb 5010 with downhill tired before but sitting on the start line against dude some fast, light xc race rigs I began to get a bit worried.

the neutral rollout through town and thousands of people was rad but as soon as we hit the 5+ mile road/fire road climb the fun ended. I still try to go for it and race like I normally would.... and tried to go with lead group 1 mile up the climb... and just couldn't. I was maxing out my HR and effort and they were just rolling away from me and these are dudes that I have raced with before and had no problems staying with or dropping on the climbs.

that's pretty much how the rest of the climb went on. dudes just rolling past me and I was working my ass off. I kept trying to battle and thanks to the 5010 i was smashing the descents and bringing guys back but every time it would turn uphill I would max out and get dropped. demoralizing for sure but i did keep trying. that bike is just not made for climbing.. and being 10 lbs heavier than my bike it was crushing my dreams.

at mile 20 I totally cracked... 2 hours of all out effort at altitude buckled me and i was convinced i was going to pull the plug at the end of the first lap... but i knew maggie wouldn't let me drop... and she didn't. she got me to rally and i headed out for more suffering.

i tried to just cruise up the 5 mile climb but i was suffering and getting passed by more dudes. I finally got to the top of the climb and to the single track and I pulled to the side and took a rest. right then i decided to head back down the road and drop. a couple of dudes were sitting on the side of the trail cheering people on and I told them i was done and needed a beer.... and they told me they had beers. they gave me a budweiser and we sat there for 15' chatting and watching the race go by.

after 3/4s of the beer I decided i could finish.... so i finished the beer, thanked the dudes and got back to work. a couple of hours of suffering later i was at the finish.... totally smashed and totally stoked i finished.

the second lap was some of the hardest miles i've ever put in on the bike both physically and mentally... it will for sure pay off in the long run.

great sleep again... but up early... unfortunately. heading to green mountain to test out a new bike... Santa Cruz 5010c. the lockout broke saturday on my bike and shot couldn't fix it. Without the parts to fix it the bike was locked... fully locked. unreal. i called around and nobody had the rock shox Xloc full sprint in stock... so the shop offered me a demo to race on! good dudes and just bad timing for my bike to break.

had the choice of the specialized camber and the 5010c. Went with the 5010 for pure fun purposes. 130mm of travel, 650b wheels, and a dropper post! heavier than my bike for sure but i can fully lockout front and rear which will be key for the long road climb on the course.

who the hell knows what's going to happen..... so different from my bike. test ride this morning.

C • 5010 3

getting 5010c dialed in. super fun bike. pretty heavy compared to my scalpel and can feel that on climbs for sure but it is so fun to descend on. 130mm of travel and dropper post. i may not be the fastest on race day but i'll be having the most fun.

easy spin on the breck bike path in vans and shorts from satellite parking back to condo. legs felt better than they have in days! HA!

super stoked to race tomorrow and just go F'n ballistic and see what happens. Absolutely nothing to lose and much fun to be had. can't wait to get to the first descent.

more good sleep. mellow day and getting ready to head to breck tomorrow.

mellow sunday watching the TdF spin after a lazy morning and walking the dogs. hot and crappy legs. awesome combo!!

ap: 178
np: 212
mp: 504
1249 kJ

huge sleep... needed it for sure after all the early wake ups.

fun ride from out to waterton canyon, colorado trail, indian creek, and rox state park. still blows me away that i can ride this from home. pretty slow going in sections and due being overgrown... the most i've ever seen it. good legs and solid effort.

445 wake up.... didn't move last night or wake up. FC50 is going to be a tough one.... hard climbing, fun descending. the trails are so rad but a lot more fun to ride than race.... I plan on making the race as hard as possible from the gun.

more mellow mile at south valley. running is still feeling pretty rough... hopefully i turn the corner soon.

C • WILDHORSE 4 2

lunch spinner on the river path. pure recovery. needed it after this mornings run.

ap: 144
np: 158
mp: 593
611 kJ

up at 430 today.. heading to breck with adam to pre-ride the Firecracker 50 course.

pre-ride of the firecracker 50 course with adam. super fun, hard course. ripped the bike park coming down... so sick. race day will for sure be a hard one.